The 15 Best Moments for Women in 2016

From Hillary Clinton and Beyoncé to Michelle Obama and beyond, these are the women-inspiring moments of hope that made strides for feminism in 2016.

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1Hillary Clinton Becomes The First Female Presidential Nominee

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Although Clinton didn't end up becoming the first female President of the United States, she still managed to break the highest glass ceiling yet by becoming the first female nominee of a major party. Clinton championed women's rights as the center of her campaign until the very end when, during her concession speech, she said, "To all the little girls watching, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world." Another major milestone that women can hold on to despite Clinton's loss? She won the popular vote with 65,756,948 votes (and counting)—over 2.8 million more than President Elect Trump.

2Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' is an Ode to Black Women

In her second visual album, Beyoncé took a new route of making a short film instead of individual music videos. The end result was Lemonade—a powerful visual strung together by Queen Bey's new album and feminist poetry by Warsan Shire. In the video, issues including racial tensions and police brutality were addressed while black women as a whole were celebrated in a way we've (unfortunately) never seen on such a mass scale before. It was boundary-breaking and went on to receive four Emmy nominations, nine Grammy nominations and a "Best Album of the Year" award from Rolling Stone.

In one of the most important campaign speeches of the 2016 presidential election, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered an incredibly moving response to news of Donald Trump's leaked 2005 tape in which he told Billy Bush to, "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything." The speech, which was given while the FLOTUS campaigned for Hillary Clinton, addressed the dangerous rape culture present in our country and denounced the misogynistic rhetoric surrounding the election. "Too many are treating this as just another day's headline, as if our outrage is overblown or unwarranted. As if this is normal. Just politics as usual, but New Hampshire, be clear: This is not normal, this is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. It is intolerable," Obama urged. The powerful speech gave hope to millions of women and sexual assault survivors at a time when it was needed the most.

4Anniesa Hasibuan Presents The First New York Fashion Week Show with Hijabs

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Muslim fashion designer Anniesa Hasibuan made waves at New York Fashion Week in September as she became not only the first Indonesian to show during the official collections, but also the first designer to present a collection fully outfitted with hijabs. The collection, which was inspired by the designer's hometown of Jakarta, marked a major win for Muslim women everywhere and the fashion industry as a whole, taking another giant leap towards inclusivity.

5American Women Make History at the Rio Olympics

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Nineteen-year-old Simone Biles made history when she became the first U.S. gymnast to win a whopping four gold medals—and this was her first-ever time at the Olympics. The U.S. gymnast team, dubbed "The Final Five," including Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez, also went on to take home the gold this year. Meanwhile, Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first U.S. athlete to compete (and win) while wearing a hijab. Allyson Felix became the most-awarded U.S. woman in Olympic track and field history. Simone Manuel then went on to become the first African American woman to win an individual event in Olympic swimming. And those are just a few of the many accomplishments women were able to claim during Rio's 2016 summer games—making it a year for female athletes to be reckoned with.

6Lady Gaga Performs With Sexual Assault Survivors at the Oscars

In an extremely powerful moment, Lady Gaga performed her song, "'Til It Happens to You," co-written by Diane Warren (both are rape survivors themselves) for the documentary Hunting Ground, which is about the epidemic of college campus sexual assault. The emotional Oscars performance was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden and ended with Gaga appearing on stage alongside 50 sexual assault survivors who all held hands in solidarity—a moment that ignited a collective round of tears in the Oscars audience.

7Harriet Tubman Will Appear on The $20 Bill

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In April, the U.S. Treasury Department announcedthat Harriet Tubman would be replacing Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill—becoming the first woman to be recognized on U.S. paper currency in over a century and the first-ever black woman to be recognized on U.S. currency. Additionally, it was announced that suffragists will appear on the backs of the $5 and $10 bills.

For the first time in its 70-year history, Dior appointed a woman as its creative director. The fashion house tapped Valentino's Maria Grazia Chiuri, who made her debut with a feminist-inspired collection for Spring 2017. Chiuri sent statement-making T-shirts reading "Dio(R)Evolution" and "We Should All Be Feminists" down the runway paired with tulle skirts and pretty lace for a collection thats main goal was to celebrate women.

9Samantha Bee Debuts Her Own Late Night Show

Formerly a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Bee branched out with a late night show of her own this year. In a late night TV circuit dominated almost fully by men, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee is an unapologetically feminist and comedic news program that tackled some of the biggest issues of 2016—namely the presidential election—in a brutally honest, sharp manner that many other late night show hosts shied away from. Bee proved she was a force to be reckoned with and wouldn't back down from defending women's rights.

10The Senate Sees More Women of Color Elected Than Ever Before

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The good news on this year's election front: history was made for women in the Senate. More women of color were elected than ever before, quadrupling the total number currently sitting in the Senate. California Attorney General Kamala Harris made history as the first Indian-American woman elected to the Senate. Catherine Cortez Masto became the first Latina senator in United States history and the first woman ever elected senator in Nevada. Tammy Duckworth then became the first Thai-American senator in history after she beat out her Republican opponent for an empty seat in Illinois. Overall, it was a win for more diverse female representation.

11#NastyWomenUnite

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When Donald Trump scoffed "such a nasty woman," to Hillary Clinton during the third presidential debate, something magical happened: women worldwide came together to fight back. #NastyWoman and #NastyWomenUnite immediately became Twitter's top trending topics as women across the globe embraced the "nasty" label and defended the female presidential nominee. Just one day later, the first of many Nasty Woman shirts was produced and 50 percent of its proceeds went to Planned Parenthood—sweet, sweet victory. It was proof that when women unite, big things happen.

12Jill Soloway Shouts "Topple The Patriarchy" at the Emmys

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While accepting an Emmy for her series about a transgender woman, Transparent, director Jill Soloway unexpectedly turned her speech into a promotion for feminism and human rights. Soloway urged, "We need to stop violence against transgender women and topple the patriarchy. Topple the patriarchy!"—causing the crowd (and internet) to erupt in cheers. It was a small moment, but an incredibly powerful and inspiring one.

For the first time ever, Forbes' list of Highest Paid Comedians included a woman when Amy Schumer nabbed the number four spot this year. Not only did the comedian show the boys who's boss by raking in $17 million this year, she also became the first female comic to sell out Madison Square Garden over the summer—a major feat for female comedians everywhere.

14Ashley Graham Covers The Swimsuit Issue of 'Sports Illustrated'

Graham became the first size 14 model to land in (and on the cover of) Sports Illustrated's highly-anticipated Swimsuit Issue. Along with Ronda Rousey and Hailey Clausson, who also landed their own covers for the issue, it was a huge win for body positivity and inclusivity—which kick-started an overall winning year for Graham who went on to front an H&M campaign, launch her own lingerie collection and get her own Barbie. The model became the face of the industry's small steps towards becoming both more inclusive and more body positive.

15The NFL Hires Its First Full-Time Female Coach

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Kathryn Smith made history as the NFL's first female coach when she was hired as the quality control-special teams coach for the Buffalo Bills. In the sports league dominated almost 100 percent by men, Smith's appointment broke down a major barrier for women aspiring to careers in the sports world.

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